Incredible!

We had such a fun Halloween trick-or-treating at the Hill Country Galleria. I've never dressed us in matching costumes before and I must say, the Incredibles were a hit.

Believe it or not, the costumes were Clark's idea. He wanted to be Dash! Aurora loved dressing up as Violet, though she would've preferred having straight black hair. I think she looks great!!! Happy Halloween from our Incredible little family to yours. 

Awesome and Disappointing

This week has been the strangest combination of awesome and disappointing. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, I took 3 long walks with friends and signed up for 2-weeks free at a beautiful yoga studio. I also registered for a painting class - but it was cancelled, and I had an interview on the calendar but it was pushed back a week. I've been incredibly productive and still have plenty to do - lots of work around the house, errands to run, and several networking events and professional development opportunities coming up. I like to stay busy and have been avoiding lazy days at home. Of course, my incredible kiddos always keep me on my toes. Tuesday we went to Halloween story time at the Westbank Library and tonight was a superhero themed Fall Festival at Clark's preschool.

Clark just started wearing undies, which means that sweet little Dash costume had to go straight into the laundry (along with a bag clothes from school) as soon as we got home. He also asked for a big boy bed. You would think this is a great time for me to focus on these things, but honestly I feel like I have enough on my mind without it! Hopefully next week's interview will be awesome and I'll have just enough time to get everything done before heading back to work. But, I suppose I wouldn't be too disappointed if I had to stay unemployed until the new year....

Socktober

All month long Valley View has been collecting socks for the homeless as part of what they're calling Socktober. Today I had lunch with my good friend Kelsey and she donated a huge bag of socks to us (Aurora will be thrilled!). Lately there have been a TON of activities at Aurora's school and I have been able to participate in every single one. On Tuesday I volunteered at the book fair and today was the HIGHLIGHT of Socktober, the Sock Hop! I helped hand out snacks at the end.

We also just had Parent/Teacher conferences and Mrs. Stueve encouraged me to have her tested for the Gifted & Talented program. She said Aurora is off the chart when it comes to reading and comprehension, plus she's creative, expressive, and amazing at helping her friends understand their work and participate in conversations.

I asked Aurora if it she thought it was weird that I was spending so much time at school because I don't have a job, and she said "No Mommy, I think it's kind of awesome!" I've always made an effort to be present and participate, but it's a balancing act for sure. When I first started thinking about my next potential job, I had this idea that the most important thing was for it to be another nonprofit that Aurora could get involved with and feel as proud of me as she has in the past. Then last weekend we went shopping at Target and she saw the "NOW HIRING" sign and blurted out "Look Mommy! Wouldn't it be AWESOME if you worked at Target!?" I realize now that I was probably setting the bar too high and thinking about the process all wrong. Aurora will be proud of me no matter what I do, but she will be happiest if I can find a job that gives me the flexibility to participate in school activities. I've been looking for things that are closer to home and even applied for a job in her school district, but I believe the best career move will most likely involve a commute and normal business hours. Regardless, we will enjoy this time off - whether it lasts for a few weeks or a few months. So far, Soctober at Valley View has been awesome.

Challenge

After two weeks of networking, volunteering, taking classes, writing cover letters, going to appointments and parenting, I'm starting to settle into this strange new life of unemployment. Finding a job is definitely my full-time job right now and it's exhausting, but I am open to whatever comes next. It was very important to Aurora that we still go to the LIVESTRONG Challenge this weekend. After all, she helped design the shirts!

I knew it would be good for me to participate and see friends, but going to the office for packet pick up was hard. I was planning on jogging the 5K with my friend Megan, but at the last minute I decided I had something to prove and thought I should just run as fast as I could. I didn't really have to prove anything to anyone, but it sure felt good. Aurora and Melody enjoyed the ride, but it was clear that they were in it for the snacks!

Afterwards the kids went to the movies and my friend Melissa came over to provide me with a personalized wardrobe consultation. She advised me on interview outfits and helped me get rid of 5 BAGS OF CLOTHING, as well as 2 more bags that I'll try to sell to a consignment shop. She's also sending me a list of the basic items I need to buy to round out my wardrobe. It was great. I had NO IDEA I had so many old, outdated, worn out clothes and I will admit that we got rid of a LOT of yellow t-shirts. Tomorrow I have a phone call with a resume expert and Tuesday I have my first phone interview. Things are moving right along! It's still a challenge and I wanna go fast! But I'm trying to relax and enjoy the process.

Barton Hill Farms

The kids didn't have school today so we met up with friends at Barton Hill Farms for some pumpkin patch fun. It's still just a little too hot in Austin but we arrived early and took advantage of every activity they had to offer. Clark loved saying hello to the animals, Aurora enjoyed painting a pumpkin, and everybody was excited to ride the cow train!

The coolest part was the maze. They reserved a tiny section for kids with signs at every corner telling the story of Spookley the pumpkin. Aurora read aloud to the boys and they were excellent listeners. We could've easily spent another hour navigating our way through the larger maze (and getting lost in the process), but even Aurora thought that was probably not a great idea. Now, if only we could have some fall weather to match with the fall festivities... 

Going Strong

I've been emailing with Julian this week and he said that he likes to keep his blog posts positive, even when times are tough. I think that's a good policy, so I'll start by wishing Julian a VERY happy birthday! I know you haven't been blogging quite as often lately but I hope you keep it up. I'm so glad we've found such a cool way to stay up to date with each other's lives. Can you imagine if we had to pick up the phone and call each other?

Now, let's all work together to keep the second part of this post positive as well. Today I spent the morning sifting through almost a decades worth of cards, notes, books, craft supplies, photos and gifts from my old cube at work. After nearly 10 years, my time with the LIVESTRONG Foundation has come to an end.

I feel very fortunate to have had such a long and fulfilling career at the Foundation, and I know that the programs I ran and the work we contributed made a difference every day. I made so many lasting friendships and had the opportunity to work with some of the most dedicated volunteers and talented nonprofit leaders in the industry.

I recently registered for this cool thing called "Marathon in a Month" and tweeted the photo above as a way to spread the word to my friends and colleagues. I wanted to post this picture as it's the last photo I took at the Foundation, and it was taken right next to my desk. I've had a few days to work on my resume, connect with old friends, relax and clear my mind, and I've been getting more involved with Aurora's school, scheduling appointments, networking, exercising, and finding all kinds of meetings and volunteer opportunities throughout the city. I'm going to take my time to find a great new job that I will love as much as I've enjoyed my career up until now. My goal is to stay in the nonprofit sector where I can continue empowering students, volunteers, and organizations to make a difference.

I'd like to say a heartfelt thank you to everybody who contributed to my efforts over the years. I will always be a fan of the Foundation as they continue to innovate in the cancer space, and we will be at the LIVESTRONG Challenge next weekend to show our support from the sidelines. Now, let the new adventures begin!

The funnest run I've ever done!

Today we woke up early and headed to Cedar Park for the Thin Mint Sprint 5K and Daisy Dash fun run. It was a Girl Scouts event and it was REALLY cute. I'm pretty sure I ran my second fastest 5K yet, and afterwards I did the 1-mile fun run with Aurora as well. There were a couple hundred little girls participating and it reminded me of the one fun run I did when I was little. All the kids were too close together and not paying any attention to their surroundings, so like four girls tripped and fell within the first minute. I kept Aurora close to make sure she knew when to veer, slow down, and pass. She'd get short of breath and say she needed to walk, but when I told her it was time to run she could easily outpace me. We also got TONS of swag at the expo and Aurora said it was the funnest run she's ever done! Which, I mean - we've done a lot of runs so that's saying something, right? Oh, and Clark got to hold hands with a TACO! (it was a Schlotzsky's sandwich).

Can this girl pose with a medal or WHAT!? The weather is finally cooling down and the course was nice and flat so I cruised through with 9 minute miles and got 4th in my division, which didn't win me a trophy but felt pretty good. Then we all got haircuts before spending the evening at a neighbor's house drinking and eating chocolate with a bunch of friends. When it was time to go home I told Aurora that everybody was tired after a very busy day and she said "No, we only did 3 things. I need to do 4 things for it to be a busy day." Well, I certainly am tired, but I've had a stressful and emotional week. More to come on that. For now, I'm so happy to have had such a fun day with family and friends. I'm not sure if I can call it the funnest run I've EVER done, but it was definitely up there!